Conwy Castle & Chatsworth House

When we arrived in Conwy, Jamie gave us a grand tour of the town and then dropped us off at the castle for three hours on our own to spend at the castle, around the town, or any combination thereof. Bet you know what I chose. You know me too well. I went straight to the castle.

Built between 1283 and 1289 by King Edward I of England, Conwy was one of castles meant to subjugate the Welsh. It was a temporary haven for Richard II in 1399 and was used during the English Civil War as a stronghold for Royalist forces, finally surrendering to the Parliamentarians in 1646. The Parliamentary forces damaged the building so it couldn’t be used against them again. It was completely ruined in 1665 and has been a site for artists and tourists ever since.

Mom and I had visited Caernarfon Castle back in 2005. Her maternal grandmother’s family was from Caernarfon. We had explored every inch of that castle and a fair amount of the town as well. Conwy wasn’t that far from Caernarfon. They were both built for the same purpose.

At Conwy, as had been the case at Caernarfon, it was possible to explore pretty much all of the castle that remained. I could go down into the cellars and climb up on the walls. I happily spent two hours there, exploring, climbing, and taking tons of photos.

The Conwy Suspension Bridge was built in 1822-26 by Thomas Telford in a style to blend in with the castle. It is a beautiful bridge. Now it is pedestrian only with a covered rail bridge to the right in the photo and a road bridge to the left.

While up on part of one of the walls, I had noticed that there was a Knight’s Shop across the street from the castle. Dogging traffic, I went across the road and checked to see what they had. I found a dagger that I really liked. It was a replica of one that had been owned by Edward, the Black Prince (Richard II’s father, for whom one of my knight ancestors served).

After purchasing the dagger, I walked around town for a while, sticking to the really old parts. Then I stopped in at a tea, sweets and gift shop, bought some mint chocolate chip ice cream and sat down with it at a table outside. Christine from Australia, who was also exploring everything she could, soon joined me with some tea and a pastry.

We spent a second night in Shrewsbury and I had dinner at the same pub across the road. I think I had the same exact food and cocktail too. The next morning, I checked out of the B&B after breakfast. I really liked the lovely couple who ran the B&B. I had also enjoyed my fellow guests.

One couple was older and was visiting town because of their son being installed as the new pastor for one of the churches. Another couple was in their twenties and backpacking their way through this part of England for their holiday. There was also a couple of women who were spending some time in Shrewsbury to see some friends of theirs. Then there was a woman from Poland who was a student at a university in London and wanted to see more of the country while on a break from school.

Our morning stop was in the Village of Leek, which is the highest village in the Staffordshire Peak District. Where we stopped, there were several houses scattered over the hillside and a small cluster of buildings, including a Bed & Breakfast called The Knight’s Table.

Our next stop was the town of Buxton. It was a spa town in Derbyshire fed by geothermal springs with a large, very beautiful, public park with several lakes and streams. There was also an Opera House which, since the town is 1,000 feet above sea level, has the honor of being the highest Opera House in Britain. After exploring the park, a couple of women from Australia and I explored some of the town.

Our big excursion that day was to Chatsworth House. I was really looking forward to that. Ever since seeing a photo of Chatsworth House when a little girl, I have wanted to visit there. That desire intensified when the house was used as Mister Darcy’s house in the mini-series of “Pride & Prejudice” in which Colin Firth starred as Darcy. For many years, I had been looking for a tour that included Chatsworth.

The house dated back to Bess of Hardwick who tore down the old house and built a new one from 1553 to 1560. Bess of Hardwick was a very interesting Elizabethan character. She married four times, each time to someone with greater wealth and power who then died and left her everything. Her second husband was Sir William Cavendish who sold his estates in southern England and bought the Chatsworth property in Bess’ home area of Derbyshire. They were married for ten years and had eight children (two of whom died in infancy) before the much older husband died.

Bess’ fourth child and second son, also named William, became the 1^st Earl of Devonshire. A few generations later, the 4^th Earl became the 1^st Duke of Devonshire. The Dukes of Devonshire, still named Cavendish, still own Chatsworth.

Bess’ fourth husband was one of Mary Queen of Scots jailers at one point, and kept Mary at Chatsworth. Mary and Bess got to be pretty good friends while Mary was there. They even took trips over to Buxton for the waters.

The 1^st Duke of Devonshire rebuilt much of the house in the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries. In the 19^th century, the 6^th Duke went on a redecorating spree.

Though he didn’t do much to change the house at all, the 5^th Duke married Georgiana Spencer, the great-great-great-great aunt of Princess Diana. Their story was portrayed in the film The Duchess.

I took 76 photos of Chatsworth House that I kept, both inside and outside. After touring the house, I had some lunch and then explored the gardens. Still having some time left, I took a buggy ride around the grounds. I had waited a long time to get there and wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a thing.

From Chatsworth House, we drove to York to spend two nights. I was in another B&B that was just outside of the old walled city.

Next time – York & Cambridge

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